Ornamental wall switch



Nov. 13, 1951 A. E. OGREN 7 2,574,933

ORNAMENTAL WALL SWITCH Filed April 24, 1948 III/III! VIII,

r IIIIIIA'IIIIIIA III/[III III IN VEN TOR. AXEL E. OGREN Patented Nov. 13, 1951 UNITEDPSTATES fwtflli'.NTv OFFICE ORNAMENTAL wnnswmn dgren, Chicago; Ill. "i lppl icationiiiiril 24, 19n,,. sais1 Nb. ziitii This invention relates 'in general to a switch operating mechanism; and more particularly h to a mechanism for actuating an electrical "switch.

The conventional wall switch forelectricalcircuits suffers a number of disadvantages; The design and coloring seldom-harmonize with the furnishings and decorations cit-he room and, in general, present an unsightly appearance. Furthermore, the wall surface immediately urrounding the switchbecomes easily soiled from accidental contact of thehand iii-operating the switch. Another disadvantagerests in the difficulty ordinarily encountered in locating a switch in a darkened room. In addition; the conventional switch may-be unsafe in at least two respects. There is a possibility of electrical shock to'the operator if theswitch happens to be faulty, and 's'econd15", the switch is sub"- ject to unintentionaloperatidn as 'bybi'ushing against it in passing.

An object of this invention is to provide a means for operating" an electrical "switch whereby a novel actuating mechanism .is empioye and is enclosed in ahousmgwmeh will have-a pleasing appearance; and when i can" readily be designed to harmonize with other appointments in the room.

Another object, is to provide a means for operating an electrical switch whereby ease of operation is achieved by the useiof a: system offulcrumed levers.

Still anotherobject is to -provide a means whereby the actuating mechanism can be made more easily recognizable in a darkened room.

A further object is to provide a' mean'sf foropcrating anelectrical switch whereby the; person operating the switch is protected from possible shock from a faulty switch. Unintentional operation of the switch-,asby brushing against' it, is virtually precluded in thepi'e'sent invention.

Other objects, advantages, c'apabilities, features and the like are comprehended bythe invention as will appear'from 'the following guescription, and as are" inherently'possess'edby the invention.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages noted above and achieves the stated objects, while at the same time providing a device which can be made up in innumerable ways to harmonize with its surroundings. Novelty designs may also be employed which will be suitable for a nursery, childrens bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, playroom or den, as well as for outdoor use. As a specific example, the device may be so designed and decorated as indicated in :(ila ims. (Cli -nous -figure iSihiddIl -bl'lllld the-fence. a reversaloi positions the luminous figure appears and vthecolored figizredisappears when front;

the drawing=, to include acolored figure and a figure coated with luminousmaterial. The figiires are so arranged thatv the colored figure appears-above the fence when' the switch is inthe on position, and atthe same time the lumi- Then the switch-is in; the off position.

Referring now to-the drawing:

Fig'. 1 isa vertical--sectional view fromthe Fig; -'2 isa verticalsectional view from the side; and

Fig.3 is a topsectional view. H

For purposes of illustration, the invention herein has been illustrated in aparticular I form but it will beevidentas the description proceeds that the particular I form or shape of the object is not "animportant-consideration-[1t should further be; noted that the particular emboclim'ent of means shown and described herein is meant to be illustrative of the-manysim ilar arrangementswhichwill be suggested to one skilled in the art. M I

1 Referring now more particularly to Figs. land 2 of-the drawings,-the large back plate 2 is" designed to fit over a conventional wall switch f}! and is secured thereto by screws 6; 6. The switch lever 8 extends through an aperture in the back plate and fits into a'n opening in theactuatin g member s I 0 which has been 1 especially designed to receive the switch lever. The actuating member H1 is in' contact the switchjlever so that a movement; of the actuating member in poor down'will cause a corresponding change in position or the switch -lever-tg {The actuat m membe in s composed of a slotted body previously described,- a connectingarm arena two extensions [4, 14: 'Ifhebektensions I l, H pmject from the body and are fitted into 'guidj'e openings '1 6, l6; in the sup member i 8 time i in. u n r dl e a hd t "t i kr a Th zf b e ilgu d a id d". f h switch lever 'actuatin her, jlfhe' :c'onn t'- in arm l2 of the actuating member is rotatably attached to a pivoted rocker arm 20 at a point between the pivoted center and the end of the rocker arm. The rocker arm 20 is rotatably mounted by means of the screw 6 through the back plate and into the switch housing.

At the ends of the rocker arm 20 are rotatably attached the operating members generally shown at 22, 22. These members are mounted within the body of the apparatus, receiving their support partly from the rocker arm connections, 24, 24 and partly from the guide extensions 30, 38 which pass through guide openings 28, 28 in the support member 18. The portions 30, 30 are especially designed and arranged with respect to the support member l8 so that the vertical portions 26, 26 of the operating members 22, 22 remain in a vertical position at all points during their movement. This result is achieved by the curved design of the members 30, 30 which, as they pass through the guide openings 28, 28 in the support member [8, cause the upper portion of the operating members to maintain a vertical position. The upper portions 32, 32 of-the operating members 22, 22 may be of any suitable design to conform to the overall effect. The upper portion, only one of which is-shown in Fig. 1, may be a part of a molded piece or they may be attached to the lower portion as desired. In a preferred embodiment as shown in the :drawings thefigures 32, 32 are molded as one piece with the remainder of the member.

The figures 20, are designed to fit within the cover .in such a manner as to derive support from the rocker arm and the cover. ating mechanism is almost completely enclosed a hollow cover 34 which fits over the mechanism and is secured to the back plate by the The complete actuscrew 36. The upper part of the cover 34 is hooked back of the switch face plate at 31. The

cover is attached so that only one of the reversely positioned figures will be visible at a.

time and the other figure will be concealed Within the cover.

In a preferred operation of the switch actuating device, one of the finger operated members is depressed, causing the rocker arm to rotate about .its center and causing the opposite end of the rocker arm to rise and elevate the reversely positioned finger operated member attached thereto.

.At the same time, the movement of the rocker .arm causes the attached slidably mounted actuating member to move up or down, carrying with it the switch lever and thus operating the electrical switch.

It will be understood that the mechanism may be constructed of any suitable material such as wood, metal, or plastic, or of any combination of these materials. It is preferred that the back plate be made of fireproof or fire-resistant material because of the safety specifications of the underwriters. It has been found that the device ,may be satisfactorily constructed of plastic throughout. Thus, I have been able to construct the device from inexpensive materials which are easily moldable into the desired shape, or may 1. A switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating member having a slotted body portion, means for guiding said member in a substantially vertical path, a centrally pivoted rocker arm, means pivotally connecting said rocker arm with said switch actuating member, a pair of manually actuated reciprocating operating members, means pivotally connecting said members to opposite ends of said rocker arm, said manually actuated operating members having'one end for manual actuation and an opposite end provided with a curved extension which curved extension is oppositely curved in each member with respect to the other, and guide means associated with said curved extension and adapted to cooperate therewith to maintain each of said manually actuatedoperating members in a vertical position during operation.

2. A switch operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the elements thereof are enclosed in a shell which hides all of the elements except the manual contact portion of one of the manually actuated reciprocating operating members.

3. A switch operating mechanism comprising a switch actuating member having a slotted body portion, means for guiding said member in a substantially vertical path, a centrally pivoted rocker arm, means pivotally connecting said rocker arm with said switch actuating member, a pair of manually actuated reciprocating operating members, means pivotally connecting said members to opposite ends of said rocker arm, said members having one end for manual actuation and an opposite end provided with a curved extension oppositely curved in each member with respect to the other, and guide means associated with said curved extension and adapted to cooperate therewith to maintain each of said manually actuated operating members in a vertical position during operation, said manually actuated reciprocating operating members being adapted for reciprocating movement whereby only one at a time of said manualcontact portions is visible above an enclosing cover portion.

AXEL E. OGREN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 686,194 Ball Nov. 5, 1901 1,058,051 Guett Apr. 8, 1913 1,132,470 Gordon 1-; Mar. 16, 1915 1,157,310 Klein Oct. 19, 1915 1,232,728 Spicer July 10, 1917 2,045,045 Moore June 23, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 384,918 Germany May 8, 1924 

